The cyclic nucleotides cyclic-adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) and cyclic-guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) function as intracellular second messengers regulating a vast array of processes in neurons. Intracellular cAMP and cGMP are generated by adenyl and guanyl cyclases, and are degraded by cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterases (PDEs) via hydrolysis of the cyclic nucleotides into their respective nucleotide monophosphates.
Phosphodieasterase 10A (PDE10A) is a dual-specificity phosphodiesterase that can convert both cAMP to AMP and cGMP to GMP (Soderling, S. et al. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 1999, 96, 7071-7076). PDE10A is primarily expressed in the neurons in the striatum, n. accumbens and in the olfactory tubercle (Kotera, J. et al. Biochem. Biophys. Res. Comm. 1999, 261, 551-557 and Seeger, T. F. et al. Brain Research, 2003, 985, 113-126).
Studies indicate that within the brain, PDE10 expression is expressed at high levels by the medium spiny neurons (MSN) of the caudate nucleus, the accumbens nucleus and the corresponding neurons of the olfactory tubercle. MSN express two functional classes of neurons: the D1 class expressing D1 dopamine receptors and the D2 class expressing D2 dopamine receptors. The D1 class of neurons is part of the ‘direct’ striatal output pathway, which broadly functions to facilitate behavioral responses. The D2 class of neurons is part of the ‘indirect’ striatal output pathway, which functions to suppress behavioral responses that compete with those being facilitated by the ‘direct’ pathway.
Dopamine D2 receptor antagonism is well established in the treatment of schizophrenia. Since the 1950's, dopamine D2 receptor antagonism has been the mainstay in psychosis treatment and all effective antipsychotic drugs antagonise D2 receptors. The effects of D2 are likely to be mediated primarily through neurons in the striatum, nucleus accumbens and olfactory tubercle, since these areas receive the densest dopaminergic projections and have the strongest expression of D2 receptors (Konradi, C. and Heckers, S. Society of Biological Psychiatry, 2001, 50, 729-742).
Because PDE10A, in this context, has the desired expression profile with high and relatively specific expression in neurons in striatum, nucleus accumbens and olfactory tubercle, PDE10A inhibition is likely to have effects similar to D2 receptor antagonism and therefore have antipsychotic effects.
While PDE10A inhibition is expected to mimic D2 receptor antagonism in part, it might be expected to have a different profile. The D2 receptor has signaling components besides cAMP (Neve, K. A. et al. Journal of Receptors and Signal Transduction 2004, 24, 165-205), wherefore interference with cAMP through PDE10A inhibition may reduce the risk of the extrapyramidal side effects that are seen with strong D2 antagonism. Conversely, PDE10A inhibition may have some effects not seen with D2 receptor antagonism. PDE10A is also expressed in D1 receptors expressing striatal neurons (Seeger, T. F. et al. Brain Research, 2003, 985, 113-126).
Further, since D1 receptor agonism leads to stimulation of adenylate cyclase and resulting increase in cAMP levels, PDE10A inhibition is likely to also have effects that mimic D1 receptor agonism.
Finally, PDE10A inhibition will not only increase cAMP in cells, but might also be expected to increase cGMP levels, since PDE10A is a dual specificity phosphodiesterase. cGMP activates a number of target protein in cells like cAMP and also interacts with the cAMP signaling pathways.
In conclusion, PDE10A inhibition is likely to mimic D2 receptor antagonism in part and therefore has antipsychotic effect, but the profile might differ from that observed with classical D2 receptor antagonists.
The PDE10A inhibitor papaverine is shown to be active in several antipsychotic models. Papaverine potentiated the cataleptic effect of the D2 receptor antagonist haloperidol in rats, but did not cause catalepsy on its own (WO 03/093499). Papaverine reduced hyperactivity in rats induced by PCP, while reduction of amphetamine induced hyperactivity was insignificant (WO 03/093499). These models suggest that PDE10A inhibition has the classic antipsychotic potential that would be expected from the theoretical considerations outlined above. WO 03/093499 further discloses the use of selective PDE10 inhibitors for the treatment of associated neurologic and psychiatric disorders. Furthermore, PDE10A inhibition reverses subchronic PCP-induced deficits in attentional set-shifting in rats (Rodefer et al. Eur. J. Neurosci. 2005, 4, 1070-1076). This model suggests that PDE10A inhibition might alleviate cognitive deficits associated with schizophrenia.
The tissue distribution of PDE10A indicates that PDE10A inhibitors can be used to raise levels of cAMP and/or cGMP within cells that express the PDE10A enzyme, especially neurons that comprise the basal ganglia, and the PDE10A inhibitors of the present invention would therefore be useful in treating a variety of associated neuropsychiatric conditions involving the basal ganglia such as neurological and psychiatric disorders, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, psychosis, obsessive compulsive disorder and addiction, and may have the benefit of not possessing unwanted side effects, which are associated with the current therapies on the market.
Furthermore, recent publications (WO 2005/120514, WO 2005012485, Cantin et al, Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry Letters 17 (2007) 2869-2873) suggest that PDE10A inhibitors may be useful for treatment of obesity and non-insulin dependent diabetes.
Furthermore, recent publications suggest that PDE10A inhibitors may be useful for the treatment of Huntingtons Disease (Giampa et al. PLoS One 2010, 5(10), Giampa et al. Neurobiology of Disease (2009), 34(3), 450-456, Hebb et al. Current Opinion in Pharmacology 2007, 7(1), 86-92.).
Pyrrolodihydroisoquinolines and variants thereof are disclosed as inhibitors of PDE10 in WO 05/03129 and WO 05/02579. Piperidinyl-substituted quinazolines and isoquinolines that serve as PDE10 inhibitors are disclosed in WO 05/82883. WO 06/11040 discloses substituted quinazoline and isoquinoline compounds that serve as inhibitors of PDE10. US 20050182079 discloses substituted tetrahydroisoquinolinyl derivatives of quinazoline and isoquinoline that serve as effective phosphodiesterase (PDE) inhibitors. In particular, US 20050182079 relates to said compounds, which are selective inhibitors of PDE10. Analogously, US 20060019975 discloses piperidine derivatives of quinazoline and isoquinoline that serve as effective phosphodiesterase (PDE) inhibitors. US 20060019975 also relates to compounds that are selective inhibitors of PDE10. WO 06/028957 discloses cinnoline derivatives as inhibitors of PDE10 for the treatment of psychiatric and neurological syndromes. WO09/152825 discloses phenylimidazole derivatives as compounds that serve as inhibitors of PDE10.
However, these disclosures do not pertain to the compounds of the invention, which are structurally unrelated to any of the known PDE10 inhibitors (Kehler, J. et al. Expert Opin. Ther. Patents 2007, 17, 147-158), and which have now been found by the inventors to be highly active and selective PDE10A enzyme inhibitors.
The present invention provides compounds that are PDE10A enzyme inhibitors and thus useful for treatment for neurodegenerative and/or psychiatric disorders, which are not efficacious in all patients. Hence, there remains a need for alternative methods of treatment.